Bristol gang killer caged for life: Minimum 34 years for teen murder

Zachariah Joel Talbert-Young, 27, born 12 October 1998, formerly of Easton, Bristol, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years for the murder of 19-year-old Eddie Kinuthia and the attempted murder of another teenager, Nathan Williams.

At Bristol Crown Court yesterday, Mr Justice Pepperall handed down the life term after Talbert-Young was convicted in October of murdering Mr Kinuthia on 21 July 2023 and, while on bail, attempting to murder Mr Williams in Lawrence Hill on 15 March 2024.

The judge ordered that the minimum terms of 34 years for murder and 20 years for attempted murder run concurrently, meaning Talbert-Young will serve at least 34 years before the Parole Board can consider release.

Paul Hayden, 22, of Hanham, Bristol, received a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of Mr Williams, with a minimum term of 17 years and 136 days. Hayden had previously been acquitted of involvement in the murder of Mr Kinuthia.

The court heard that Mr Kinuthia was ambushed and stabbed up to six times as he walked near his home on Grosvenor Road Triangle, St Paul’s, shortly after a community event attended by around 150 people.

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Talbert-Young arrived on an electric bike, dressed in black and wearing a mask, before launching what the judge described as a “horrific” and “merciless” attack.

A single five-inch wound to the teenager’s thigh severed the femoral artery, causing catastrophic blood loss from which Mr Kinuthia died in hospital.

Mr Justice Pepperall ruled that the murder was linked to an ongoing postcode feud between two Bristol gangs known as the 1-6s, associated with east Bristol, and the 2-4s, linked to St Paul’s.

Talbert-Young was closely associated with the 1-6 group, while Mr Kinuthia was regularly seen with members of the 2-4s.

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